Apparatus and method for treating substrate

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for treating a substrate includes a drying chamber that performs a drying process on the substrate having an organic solvent remaining on an upper surface thereof, a bake chamber that heats the substrate subjected to the drying process, and a transfer assembly that transfers the substrate between the drying chamber and the bake chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

A claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 is made to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0163690 filed on Dec. 18, 2018, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to anapparatus and method for treating a substrate such as a semiconductorwafer or a flat display panel.

To manufacture semiconductor elements or a flat panel display, asubstrate treating apparatus performs liquid processing on a substrate,such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, with various typesof processing liquids and thereafter performs a drying process of dryingthe substrate having the processing liquids adhering thereto. Here, theliquid processing by the processing liquids in the substrate treatingapparatus includes a cleaning or etching process of cleaning or etchingthe surface of the substrate with a chemical, such as a cleaningsolution or etchant, and a rinsing process of rinsing the surface of thesubstrate subjected to the cleaning process or the etching process witha rinsing solution.

A volatile organic chemical, such as isopropyl alcohol, is used in thedrying process. The organic chemical may be supplied to the surface ofthe substrate to replace the rinsing solution, and thereafter thesubstrate may be dried. However, due to scaling-down of the criticaldimension (CD) of a pattern formed on the surface of the substrate, theorganic chemical supplied to the surface of the substrate fails to beremoved even after the drying process is performed. Therefore, theorganic chemical adhering to the surface of the substrate is solidified,and impurities, such as particles, may adhere to the solidified organicchemical.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide a substrate treatingapparatus and method for efficiently treating a substrate.

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide a substrate treatingapparatus and method for efficiently removing impurities remaining on asubstrate subjected to a drying process.

Embodiments of the inventive concept provide a substrate treatingapparatus and method for providing various factors to remove impuritiesremaining on a substrate subjected to a drying process.

The technical problems to be solved by the inventive concept are notlimited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problemsnot mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the followingdescription by those skilled in the art to which the inventive conceptpertains.

According to an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for treating asubstrate includes an index module, a cleaning process module thatperforms a cleaning process on the substrate, and a bake chamber thatheats the substrate. The index module includes a load port on which acarrier having the substrate received therein is placed and a transferframe disposed between the load port and the cleaning process module andincluding an index robot that transfers the substrate between thecarrier placed on the load port and the cleaning process module. Thecleaning process module includes a drying chamber that performs a dryingprocess on the substrate having an organic solvent remaining on an uppersurface thereof and a transfer chamber including a transfer robot thattransfers the substrate in the cleaning process chamber. The bakechamber heats the substrate subjected to the drying process.

According to an embodiment, the cleaning process module may furtherinclude a liquid processing chamber that performs liquid processing onthe substrate by supplying the organic solvent to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the drying chamber may treat the substrateby supplying a supercritical fluid to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the drying chamber may include a liquidsupply unit that supplies the organic solvent to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may include a housinghaving an interior space and a heating member that heats the substrateto thermally decompose an impurity adhering to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may further include acontroller that controls the heating member, and the controller maycontrol the heating member to heat the substrate above a thermaldecomposition temperature of the impurity adhering to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the impurity may include carbon, and thecontroller may control the heating member to heat the substrate to atemperature of 600° C. or more.

According to an embodiment, the heating member may be a flash lamp thatsupplies light to the substrate to heat the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may further include a gassupply member that supplies an inert gas into the interior space and anexhaust line that discharges the inert gas.

According to an embodiment, the gas supply member and the exhaust linemay be located in a higher position than the substrate located in theinterior space.

According to an embodiment, the gas supply member may include aplurality of gas supply members attached to a sidewall of the housing,and the exhaust line may be located in an area facing the gas supplymember.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may be provided on theindex module.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may be provided to bedetachable from the index module.

According to an embodiment, the index module and the cleaning processmodule may be arranged along a first direction, and the load port mayinclude a plurality of load ports. The plurality of load ports may bearranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.The bake chamber and the plurality of load ports may be arranged in arow along the second direction.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may be provided in thecleaning process module.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may be provided between theindex module and the drying chamber.

According to an embodiment, the index module and the cleaning processmodule may be arranged along a first direction, and the index module,the drying chamber, and the bake chamber may be sequentially arrangedalong the first direction.

According to an embodiment, the apparatus may further include acontroller that controls the apparatus, and the controller may controlthe transfer robot or the index robot such that the organic solventsupplied to the substrate is dried in the drying chamber and thereafterthe substrate is heated in the bake chamber to thermally decompose animpurity adhering to the substrate.

According to an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for treating asubstrate includes a drying chamber that performs a drying process onthe substrate having an organic solvent remaining on an upper surfacethereof, a bake chamber that heats the substrate subjected to the dryingprocess, and a transfer assembly that transfers the substrate betweenthe drying chamber and the bake chamber.

According to an embodiment, the apparatus may further include a liquidprocessing chamber that performs liquid processing on the substrate bysupplying the organic solvent to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the drying chamber may treat the substrateby supplying a supercritical fluid to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the apparatus may further include a heatingmember that heats the substrate to thermally decompose an impurityadhering to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may include a housinghaving an interior space, a heating member that heats the substrate tothermally decompose an impurity adhering to the substrate, and acontroller that controls the heating member. The controller may controlthe heating member to heat the substrate above a thermal decompositiontemperature of the impurity adhering to the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the impurity may include carbon, and thecontroller may control the heating member to heat the substrate to atemperature of 600° C. or more.

According to an embodiment, the bake chamber may further include a gassupply member that supplies an inert gas into the interior space and anexhaust line that discharges the inert gas.

According to an embodiment, the gas supply member and the exhaust linemay be located in a higher position than the substrate located in theinterior space.

According to an embodiment, the gas supply member includes a pluralityof gas supply members attached to a sidewall of the housing, and theexhaust line is located in an area facing the gas supply member.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a method for treating a substrateincludes a solvent processing step of supplying an organic solvent ontothe substrate to treat the substrate, a drying step of drying thesubstrate to remove the organic solvent on the substrate, and a bakestep of heating the substrate to thermally decompose an impurityadhering to the substrate. The drying step and the bake step areperformed in different chambers.

According to an embodiment, in the drying step, a supercritical fluidmay be supplied onto the substrate to dry the substrate.

According to an embodiment, the bake step may be performed in a bakechamber including a heating member that heats the substrate, and thebake chamber may include a plurality of bake chambers. The plurality ofbake chambers may include different heating members. A bake chamber withthe heating member that is selected depending on the substrate, amongthe plurality of bake chambers, may be mounted in a substrate treatingapparatus in which a drying chamber that performs the drying step isinstalled, and the bake step may be performed in the selected bakechamber.

According to an embodiment, the heating member of the bake chamber maybe a selected one of a flash lamp, an infrared lamp, an ultravioletlamp, a laser, and a heating wire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above and other objects and features will become apparent from thefollowing description with reference to the following figures, whereinlike reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousfigures unless otherwise specified, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of a bake chamberof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state of removing impurities adhering toa substrate in the bake chamber of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of the bakechamber of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate treating method accordingto an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a substrate treating method according toanother embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the inventive concept; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the inventive concept will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that thoseskilled in the art to which the inventive concept pertains can readilycarry out the inventive concept. However, the inventive concept may beimplemented in various different forms and is not limited to theembodiments described herein. Furthermore, in describing the embodimentsof the inventive concept, detailed descriptions related to well-knownfunctions or configurations will be omitted when they may make subjectmatters of the inventive concept unnecessarily obscure. In addition,components performing similar functions and operations are provided withidentical reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings.

The terms “include” and “comprise” in the specification are “open type”expressions just to say that the corresponding components exist and,unless specifically described to the contrary, do not exclude but mayinclude additional components. Specifically, it should be understoodthat the terms “include”, “comprise”, and “have”, when used herein,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,components, and/or parts, but do not preclude the presence or additionof one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components,parts, and/or groups thereof.

The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwisespecified. Furthermore, in the drawings, the shapes and dimensions ofcomponents may be exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the inventive concept will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a substrate treating apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG.1, the substrate treating apparatus 10 includes an index module 100 anda cleaning process module 200. The index module 100 includes load ports120 and a transfer frame 140. The load ports 120, the transfer frame140, and the cleaning process module 200 are sequentially arranged in arow. Hereinafter, the direction in which the load ports 120, thetransfer frame 140, and the cleaning process module 200 are arranged isreferred to as a first direction 12, a direction perpendicular to thefirst direction 12 when viewed from above is referred to as a seconddirection 14, and a direction perpendicular to the plane including thefirst direction 12 and the second direction 14 is referred to as a thirddirection 16.

Carriers 130 having substrates W received therein are placed on the loadports 120. The load ports 120 are arranged in a row along the seconddirection 14. The number of load ports 120 may be increased or decreaseddepending on the process efficiency and footprint condition of thecleaning process module 200. Each of the carriers 130 includes aplurality of slots (not illustrated) for receiving the substrates W in ahorizontal position relative to the ground. A front opening unified pod(FOUP) may be used as the carrier 130.

The cleaning process module 200 includes a buffer unit 200, a transferchamber 240, liquid processing chambers 260, and drying chambers 280.The transfer chamber 240 is arranged such that the lengthwise directionthereof is parallel to the first direction 12. The liquid processingchambers 260 or the drying chambers 280 are disposed on opposite sidesof the transfer chamber 240. The liquid processing chambers 260 or thedrying chambers 280 are located on one side and an opposite side of thetransfer chamber 240 in a symmetric arrangement with respect to thetransfer chamber 240.

A plurality of liquid processing chambers 260 and drying chambers 280are provided on the one side of the transfer chamber 240. The liquidprocessing chambers 260 and the drying chambers 280 may be sequentiallyarranged along the lengthwise direction of the transfer chamber 240.Furthermore, the liquid processing chambers 260 may be stacked one aboveanother. In addition, the drying chambers 280 may also be stacked oneabove another in the same way. That is, the liquid processing chambers260 and the drying chambers 280 may be arranged in an A×B array on theone side of the transfer chamber 240. Here, “A” denotes the number ofliquid processing chambers 260 and drying chambers 280 arranged in a rowalong the first direction 12, and “B” denotes the number of liquidprocessing chambers 260 or drying chambers 280 arranged in a columnalong the third direction 16. In the case where three liquid processingchambers 260 and three drying chambers 280 are provided on the one sideof the transfer chamber 240, the liquid processing chambers 260 and thedrying chambers 280 may be arranged in a 2×3 array. The number of liquidprocessing chambers 260 and the number of drying chambers 280 may beincreased or decreased. Alternatively, the liquid processing chambers260 and the drying chambers 280 may be provided on only the one side ofthe transfer chamber 240. In another case, the liquid processingchambers 260 and the drying chambers 280 may be provided in a singlelayer on the opposite sides of the transfer chamber 240.

The buffer unit 220 is disposed between the transfer frame 140 and thetransfer chamber 240. The buffer unit 220 provides a space in which thesubstrates W stay before transferred between the transfer chamber 240and the transfer frame 140. The buffer unit 220 includes slots (notillustrated) in which the substrates W are placed. The slots (notillustrated) are spaced apart from each other along the third direction16. The buffer unit 220 is open at one side facing the transfer frame140 and at an opposite side facing the transfer chamber 240.

The transfer frame 140 is disposed between the load ports 120 and thecleaning process module 200. The transfer frame 140 may transfer thesubstrates W between the carriers 130 placed on the load ports 120 andthe cleaning process module 200. For example, the transfer frame 140 maytransfer the substrates W between the carriers 130 placed on the loadports 120 and the buffer unit 220.

An index rail 142 and an index robot 144 are provided in the transferframe 140. The index rail 142 is arranged such that the lengthwisedirection thereof is parallel to the second direction 14. The indexrobot 144 is installed on the index rail 142 and rectilinearly movesalong the index rail 142 in the second direction 14. The index robot 144includes a base 144 a, a body 144 b, and index arms 144 c. The base 144a is installed to be movable along the index rail 142. The body 144 b iscombined with the base 144 a. The body 144 b is movable on the base 144a along the third direction 16. Furthermore, the body 144 b is rotatableon the base 144 a. The index arms 144 c are coupled to the body 144 band are movable forward and backward relative to the body 144 b. Theindex arms 144 c may individually operate. The index arms 144 c arestacked one above another with a spacing gap therebetween along thethird direction 16. Some of the index arms 144 c may be used to transferthe substrates W from the cleaning process module 200 to the carriers130, and the other index arms 144 c may be used to transfer thesubstrates W from the carriers 130 to the cleaning process module 200.Accordingly, particles generated from the substrates W that are to betreated may be prevented from adhering to the treated substrates W inthe process in which the index robot 144 transfers the substrates Wbetween the carriers 130 and the cleaning process module 200.

The transfer chamber 240 transfers the substrates W between the bufferunit 220, the liquid processing chambers 260, and the drying chambers280. A guide rail 242 and a transfer robot 244 are provided in thetransfer chamber 240. The guide rail 242 is arranged such that thelengthwise direction thereof is parallel to the first direction 12. Thetransfer robot 244 is installed on the guide rail 242 and rectilinearlymoves on the guide rail 242 along the first direction 12. The transferrobot 244 includes a base 244 a, a body 244 b, and main arms 244 c. Thebase 244 a is installed to be movable along the guide rail 242. The body244 b is combined with the base 244 a. The body 244 b is movable on thebase 244 a along the third direction 16. Furthermore, the body 244 b isrotatable on the base 244 a. The main arms 244 c are coupled to the body244 b and are movable forward and backward relative to the body 244 b.The main arms 244 c may individually operate. The main arms 244 c arestacked one above another with a spacing gap therebetween along thethird direction 16.

Each of the liquid processing chambers 260 performs a process oftreating a substrate with liquids. For example, the liquid processingchamber 260 may perform a cleaning process. For example, the liquidprocessing chamber 260 may perform the cleaning process by supplyingchemicals, such as hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, orthe like, to the substrate. Furthermore, the liquid processing chamber260 may perform a rising process by supplying a rising solution, such asdeionized water, to the substrate. In addition, the liquid processingchamber 260 may perform liquid processing on the substrate by supplyingan organic solvent, such as isopropyl alcohol (hereinafter, referred toas IPA), to the substrate. The cleaning process, the rinsing process,and the process using the organic solvent may be sequentially performed.The rinsing solution remaining on the substrate may be replaced by theorganic solvent supplied to the substrate. Also, the liquid processingchamber 260 may perform a spin drying process on the substrate byrotating the substrate having the IPA supplied thereto.

Each of the drying chambers 280 performs a drying process on thesubstrate. The drying chamber 280 may be a high-pressure chambermaintained at high temperature and high pressure. The drying chamber 280may treat the substrate by supplying a supercritical fluid to thesubstrate. For example, the substrate subjected to the liquid processingin the liquid processing chamber 260 may be transferred into the dryingchamber 280, with the organic solvent remaining on the substrate.Thereafter, the drying chamber 280 may perform a drying process on thesubstrate by supplying a supercritical fluid to the substrate. Thesupercritical fluid may be carbon dioxide.

Although it has been exemplified that the substrate is dried by usingthe supercritical fluid, the substrate may be dried by being rotated athigh speed. While the substrate is rotated, an inert gas, such asnitrogen, may be supplied to the substrate. The inert gas may besupplied to the substrate in a state of being heated.

Although it has been exemplified that the organic solvent is supplied tothe substrate in the liquid processing chamber 260 and the substratehaving the organic solvent remaining thereon is transferred into thedrying chamber 280, the inventive concept is not limited thereto. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the liquid processing chamber 260 maynot be provided, and liquid processing may be performed in the dryingchamber 280. In this case, the drying chamber 280 may include a liquidsupply unit for supplying an organic solvent to the substrate.Accordingly, the liquid supply unit of the drying chamber 280 may supplythe organic solvent to the substrate, and thereafter the substrate maybe dried by being rotated.

A bake chamber 400 may heat the substrate. The bake chamber 400 maythermally decompose impurities adhering to the substrate, by heating thesubstrate. The substrate heated in the bake chamber 400 may be asubstrate subjected to liquid processing and drying.

The bake chamber 400 may be provided on the index module 100. Forexample, the bake chamber 400 and the load ports 120 may be arranged ina row along the second direction 14. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG.2, the bake chamber 400 may be provided to be detachable from the indexmodule 100.

A controller 490 may control the substrate treating apparatus 10. Thecontroller 490 may control the substrate treating apparatus 10 toperform a substrate treating method that will be described below. Forexample, the controller 490 may control a transfer assembly such thatthe organic solvent supplied onto the substrate is dried in the dryingchamber 280 and the substrate is heated in the bake chamber 400 forthermal decomposition of the impurities adhering to the substrate. Here,the transfer assembly may be defined as referring to all components fortransferring the substrate. For example, the term “transfer assembly” asused herein is a concept including the index robot 144 and the transferrobot 244.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of the bakechamber of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, the bake chamber 400 may includea housing 410, a support plate 420, a heating member 430, a gas supplymember 440, and an exhaust member 450.

The housing 410 has an interior space 412 in which a substrate W istreated. The housing 410 has a substantially rectangular parallelepipedshape. The housing 410 has, in a sidewall thereof, an entrance (notillustrated) through which the substrate W is loaded into or unloadedfrom the housing 410. The entrance may remain open. Alternatively, adoor (not illustrated) for opening or closing the entrance may beprovided. The door (not illustrated) may prevent an external air flowfrom being introduced into the bake chamber 400, or may prevent heatfrom being released to the outside, while the substrate W is heated inthe bake chamber 400.

The support plate 420 may support the substrate W in the interior space412. Support pins 422 may be provided on the support plate 420. Thesupport pins 422 may support the substrate W. The support pins 422 maybe raised to load the substrate W onto the support plate 420 or unloadthe substrate W from the support plate 420.

The heating member 430 may heat the substrate W. For example, theheating member 430 may heat a substrate W subjected to a drying processin the liquid processing chamber 260 and/or the drying chamber 280. Theheating member 430 may heat the substrate W to thermally decomposeimpurities P adhering to the substrate W. The heating member 430 may bea non-contact type heating unit. For example, the heating member 430 maybe implemented with a flash lamp. The flash lamp may supply light to thesubstrate W to heat the substrate W. The temperature of the substrate Wmay be rapidly raised due to the straightness of light supplied by theflash lamp.

Although it has been exemplified that the heating member 430 is a flashlamp, the heating member 430 is not limited thereto. For example, theheating member 430 may be an infrared (IR) lamp, an ultraviolet (UV)lamp, or a laser that is a non-contact type heating unit. The IR lampmay supply IR light having a longer wavelength than visible light to thesubstrate W to heat the substrate W. The UV lamp may supply UV lighthaving a shorter wavelength than visible light to the substrate W toheat the substrate W. The laser may apply a laser beam to the substrateW to heat the substrate W.

The gas supply member 440 may supply gas into the interior space 412.The gas supplied into the interior space 412 by the gas supply member440 may be an inert gas. For example, the inert gas may be nitrogen gas.The inert gas supplied into the interior space 412 by the gas supplymember 440 may function as a carrier gas that delivers thethermally-decomposed impurities P to the exhaust member 450. A pluralityof gas supply members 440 may be attached to the sidewall of the housing410. Furthermore, the gas supply members 440 may be located in a higherposition than the substrate W located in the interior space 412.

The exhaust member 450 may discharge the inert gas supplied into theinterior space 412 and the thermally-decomposed impurities P out of thebake chamber 400. The exhaust member 450 may include an exhaust hole 452and an exhaust line 454. The exhaust hole 452 may be formed in thesidewall of the housing 410, and the exhaust line 454 may be connectedto the exhaust hole 452. The exhaust hole 452 and the exhaust line 454may be located in a higher position than the substrate W located in theinterior space 412. Furthermore, the exhaust member 450 may be locatedin an area facing the gas supply member 440 described above. Moreover,the exhaust line 454 may be connected with a pressure reducing member(not illustrated) that reduces the pressure in the interior space 412.The pressure reducing member (not illustrated) may be implemented with apump. However, the pressure reducing member (not illustrated) is notlimited thereto, and a well-know device capable of reducing the pressurein the interior space 412 may be used as the pressure reducing member(not illustrated).

The heating member 430 is connected with the controller 490. Thecontroller 490 may control the temperature of the substrate W that theheating member 430 heats.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state of removing impurities adhering toa substrate in the bake chamber of FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 5, asubstrate W subjected to a drying process in the liquid processingchamber 260 and/or the drying chamber 280 is transferred into the bakechamber 400. The substrate W transferred into the bake chamber 400 isplaced on the support plate 420. After the substrate W is placed on thesupport plate 420, the heating member 430 may supply light to thesubstrate W to heat the substrate W. Accordingly, heat is transferred toimpurities P adhering to the substrate W. The impurities P adhering tothe substrate W may be thermally decomposed by the heat. The controller490 may allow the substrate W to be heated above the thermaldecomposition temperature of the impurities P adhering to the substrateW. For example, in the case where the impurities P contain carbon, thecontroller 490 may control the heating member 430 to heat the substrateW to a temperature of 600° C. or more.

When the impurities P adhering to the substrate W are thermallydecomposed and evaporated, the thermally-decomposed impurities P may bedelivered to the exhaust hole 452 by an inert gas supplied by the gassupply member 440. The inert gas and the thermally-decomposed impuritiesP delivered to the exhaust hole 452 may be discharged outside the bakechamber 400 through the exhaust line 454.

Although it has been exemplified that the heating member 430 for heatingthe substrate W is a non-contact type heating unit, the heating member430 may be a contact type heating unit. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 6, the heating member 430 may be implemented as a heating wirelocated in the support plate 420. The heating member 430 that isimplemented as the heating wire may be connected with the controller490. The function and effect of the heating member 430 implemented witha contact type heating unit may be the same as, or similar to, thosewhen the heating member 430 is implemented with a non-contact typeheating unit, and therefore detailed descriptions thereabout will beomitted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate treating method accordingto an embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 7, thesubstrate treating method may include solvent processing step S10,drying step S20, and bake step S30.

Solvent processing step S10 is a step of supplying an organic solventonto a substrate W to treat the substrate W. For example, solventprocessing step S10 may be a step of supplying the organic solvent todeionized water remaining on the substrate W and replacing the deionizedwater remaining on the substrate W with the organic solvent. Solventprocessing step S10 may be performed in the liquid processing chamber260.

Drying step S20 is a step of drying the substrate W to remove theorganic solvent on the substrate W. Drying step S20 may be performedafter solvent processing step S10. Furthermore, drying step S20 may be astep of drying the substrate W by supplying a supercritical fluid ontothe substrate W having the organic solvent remaining thereon. Dryingstep S20 may be performed in the drying chamber 280. Specifically, indrying step S20, the substrate W may be transferred into the dryingchamber 280 in the state in which the organic solvent supplied onto thesubstrate W in the liquid processing chamber 260 remains on thesubstrate W, and thereafter the supercritical fluid may be supplied ontothe substrate W in the drying chamber 280 to dry the substrate W.

Bake step S30 is a step of heating the substrate W to thermallydecompose impurities adhering to the substrate W. Bake step S30 may beperformed after drying step S20. Bake step S30 may be performed in achamber different from the chambers in which solvent processing step S10and drying step S20 are performed. For example, solvent processing stepS10 may be performed in the liquid processing chamber 260, drying stepS20 may be performed in the drying chamber 280, and bake step S30 may beperformed in the bake chamber 400.

Although it has been exemplified that solvent processing step S10 isperformed in the liquid processing chamber 260 and drying step S20 isperformed in the drying chamber 280, the inventive concept is notlimited thereto.

For example, both solvent processing step S10 and drying step S20 may beperformed in the drying chamber 280. Specifically, the drying chamber280 may have a liquid supply unit for supplying an organic solvent tothe substrate W. The liquid supply unit of the drying chamber 280 mayperform solvent processing step S10 by supplying the organic solvent tothe substrate W. Thereafter, drying step S20 of drying the substrate Wmay be performed in the drying chamber 280.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a substrate treating method according toanother embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 8, aplurality of bake chambers 400 may be provided. For example, a pluralityof bake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d, and 400 e may havedifferent heating members 430. For example, the heating member 430 ofthe first bake chamber 400 a may be a flash lamp. The heating member 430of the second bake chamber 400 b may be an IR lamp. The heating member430 of the third bake chamber 400 c may be a UV lamp. The heating member430 of the fourth bake chamber 400 d may be a laser. The heating member430 of the fifth bake chamber 400 e may be a flash lamp.

In the substrate treating method, a bake chamber with the heating member430 that is selected depending on a substrate, among the plurality ofbake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d, and 400 e, may be mounted inthe substrate treating apparatus 10 in which the drying chamber 280 isinstalled. Mounting the bake chamber selected depending on the substratein the substrate treating apparatus 10 may vary depending on the type oforganic solvent supplied to the substrate or the type of substrate to betreated. The bake chamber 400 mounted in the substrate treatingapparatus 10 may perform bake step S30 described above.

An apparatus in the related art treats a substrate by supplying anorganic solvent to the substrate and thereafter performs a process ofdrying the substrate. However, the apparatus in the related art has aproblem in that the organic solvent supplied to the substrate is notappropriately removed due to scaling-down of the critical dimension of apattern formed on the surface of the substrate. The organic solvent issolidified in the process of transferring the substrate, and particlesadhere to the solidified organic solvent to deteriorate efficiency intreating the substrate. However, according to an embodiment of theinventive concept, an organic solvent is supplied to a substrate, andthereafter the substrate subjected to the drying process is heated.Accordingly, impurities adhering to the substrate after the dryingprocess is performed are thermally decomposed and removed.

In the case where a heating unit for heating a substrate is installed inthe liquid processing chamber 260 that performs solvent processing stepS10, an organic solvent may not be appropriately supplied to a substrateW. For example, when the organic solvent is heated, the organic solventis less likely to be supplied in a liquid phase to the substrate.Moreover, in the case where a heating unit for heating a substrate isinstalled in the drying chamber 280 that performs drying step S20, thestructure of the drying chamber 280 is complicated. However, accordingto an embodiment of the inventive concept, chambers for performingsolvent processing step S10 and drying step S20 and a chamber forperforming bake step S30 differ from each other. Accordingly, theaforementioned problems occurring when the heating unit is installed inthe liquid processing chamber 260 or the drying chamber 280 are able tobe solved.

Impurities, such as particles, are likely to adhere to a substrate in aprocess in which the substrate is transferred after solvent processingstep S10 and drying step S20 are performed. However, according to anembodiment of the inventive concept, the bake chamber 400 is provided onthe index module 100. In the bake chamber 400 provided on the indexmodule 100, bake step S30 is performed on a substrate subjected tosolvent processing step S10 and drying step S20. The substrate subjectedto bake step S30 may be immediately transferred outside the substratetreating apparatus 10 without a process of separately transferring thesubstrate in the substrate treating apparatus 10. Accordingly, it ispossible to minimize a risk that particles adhere to the substrate,which is subjected to bake step S30, in a process in which the substrateis transferred so as to be unloaded outside the substrate treatingapparatus 10.

According to an embodiment of the inventive concept, the bake chamber400 includes the plurality of bake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d,and 400 e, and the bake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d, and 400 ehave the different heating members 430. Furthermore, as described above,the bake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d, and 400 e are detachablefrom the substrate treating apparatus 10. Depending on a substrate to betreated in the substrate treating apparatus 10, a bake chamber 400selected from the plurality of bake chambers 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d,and 400 e may be mounted in the substrate treating apparatus 10.Accordingly, bake step S30 may be performed with various factors.

Although it has been exemplified that the bake chamber 400 is providedon the index module 100, the inventive concept is not limited thereto.For example, the bake chamber 400 may be provided in the cleaningprocess module 200. In the case where the bake chamber 400 is providedin the cleaning process module 200, the plurality of bake chambers 400a, 400 b, 400 c, 400 d, and 400 e may be stacked one above another.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the index module 100 and thecleaning process module 200 may be arranged along the first direction 12when viewed from above, and the index module 100, the drying chambers280, and the bake chambers 400 may be sequentially arranged along thefirst direction 12. Furthermore, the bake chamber 400 may include aplurality of bake chambers stacked one above another along the thirddirection 16.

Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the bake chamber 400 may beprovided in the cleaning process module 200 and may be located betweenthe index module 100 and the drying chambers 280 when viewed from above.Even in this case, the bake chamber 400 may include a plurality of bakechambers stacked one above another along the third direction 16. Also,in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the bake chamber 400may be detachable from the substrate treating apparatus 10.

According to the embodiments of the inventive concept, the substratetreating apparatus and method may efficiently treat a substrate.

Furthermore, the substrate treating apparatus and method may efficientlyremove impurities remaining on a substrate subjected to a dryingprocess.

Moreover, the substrate treating apparatus and method may minimizere-adhesion of impurities to a substrate subjected to a cleaning processand a drying process.

In addition, the substrate treating apparatus and method may use variousfactors to remove impurities remaining on a substrate subjected to adrying process, thereby efficiently performing the removal ofimpurities.

Effects of the inventive concept are not limited to the above-describedeffects, and any other effects not mentioned herein may be clearlyunderstood from this specification and the accompanying drawings bythose skilled in the art to which the inventive concept pertains.

The above description exemplifies the inventive concept. Furthermore,the above-mentioned contents describe exemplary embodiments of theinventive concept, and the inventive concept may be used in variousother combinations, changes, and environments. That is, variations ormodifications can be made to the inventive concept without departingfrom the scope of the inventive concept that is disclosed in thespecification, the equivalent scope to the written disclosures, and/orthe technical or knowledge range of those skilled in the art. Thewritten embodiments describe the best state for implementing thetechnical spirit of the inventive concept, and various changes requiredin specific applications and purposes of the inventive concept can bemade. Accordingly, the detailed description of the inventive concept isnot intended to restrict the inventive concept in the disclosedembodiment state. In addition, it should be construed that the attachedclaims include other embodiments.

While the inventive concept has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, it shouldbe understood that the above embodiments are not limiting, butillustrative.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for treating a substrate, theapparatus comprising: an index module; a cleaning process moduleconfigured to perform a cleaning process on the substrate; and a bakechamber configured to heat the substrate, wherein the index moduleincludes: a load port on which a carrier having the substrate receivedtherein is placed; and a transfer frame disposed between the load portand the cleaning process module and including an index robot configuredto transfer the substrate between the carrier placed on the load portand the cleaning process module, wherein the cleaning process moduleincludes: a drying chamber configured to perform a drying process on thesubstrate having an organic solvent remaining on an upper surfacethereof; and a transfer chamber including a transfer robot configured totransfer the substrate in the cleaning process chamber, and wherein thebake chamber heats the substrate subjected to the drying process.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning process module furtherincludes: a liquid processing chamber configured to perform liquidprocessing on the substrate by supplying the organic solvent to thesubstrate.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying chambertreats the substrate by supplying a supercritical fluid to thesubstrate.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying chamberincludes a liquid supply unit configured to supply the organic solventto the substrate.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bake chamberincludes: a housing having an interior space; and a heating memberconfigured to heat the substrate to thermally decompose an impurityadhering to the substrate.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the bakechamber further includes a controller configured to control the heatingmember, and wherein the controller controls the heating member to heatthe substrate above a thermal decomposition temperature of the impurityadhering to the substrate.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein theimpurity includes carbon, and wherein the controller controls theheating member to heat the substrate to a temperature of 600° C. ormore.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the heating member is a flashlamp configured to supply light to the substrate to heat the substrate.9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the bake chamber further includes:a gas supply member configured to supply an inert gas into the interiorspace; and an exhaust line configured to discharge the inert gas. 10.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the gas supply member and the exhaustline are located in a higher position than the substrate located in theinterior space.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the gas supplymember includes a plurality of gas supply members attached to a sidewallof the housing, and wherein the exhaust line is located in an areafacing the gas supply member.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thebake chamber is provided on the index module.
 13. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the bake chamber is provided to be detachable from the indexmodule.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the index module and thecleaning process module are arranged along a first direction, whereinthe load port includes a plurality of load ports, wherein the pluralityof load ports are arranged along a second direction perpendicular to thefirst direction, and wherein the bake chamber and the plurality of loadports are arranged in a row along the second direction.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the bake chamber is provided in thecleaning process module.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the bakechamber is provided between the index module and the drying chamber. 17.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the index module and the cleaningprocess module are arranged along a first direction, and wherein theindex module, the drying chamber, and the bake chamber are sequentiallyarranged along the first direction.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: a controller configured to control the apparatus,wherein the controller controls the transfer robot or the index robotsuch that the organic solvent supplied to the substrate is dried in thedrying chamber and thereafter the substrate is heated in the bakechamber to thermally decompose an impurity adhering to the substrate.19. An apparatus for treating a substrate, the apparatus comprising: adrying chamber configured to perform a drying process on the substratehaving an organic solvent remaining on an upper surface thereof; a bakechamber configured to heat the substrate subjected to the dryingprocess; and a transfer assembly configured to transfer the substratebetween the drying chamber and the bake chamber.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 19, further comprising: a liquid processing chamber configured toperform liquid processing on the substrate by supplying the organicsolvent to the substrate.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein thedrying chamber treats the substrate by supplying a supercritical fluidto the substrate.
 22. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising: aheating member configured to heat the substrate to thermally decomposean impurity adhering to the substrate.
 23. The apparatus of claim 19,wherein the bake chamber includes: a housing having an interior space; aheating member configured to heat the substrate to thermally decomposean impurity adhering to the substrate; and a controller configured tocontrol the heating member, and wherein the controller controls theheating member to heat the substrate above a thermal decompositiontemperature of the impurity adhering to the substrate.
 24. The apparatusof claim 23, wherein the impurity includes carbon, and wherein thecontroller controls the heating member to heat the substrate to atemperature of 600° C. or more.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23, whereinthe bake chamber further includes: a gas supply member configured tosupply an inert gas into the interior space; and an exhaust lineconfigured to discharge the inert gas.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the gas supply member and the exhaust line are located in ahigher position than the substrate located in the interior space. 27.The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the gas supply member includes aplurality of gas supply members attached to a sidewall of the housing,and wherein the exhaust line is located in an area facing the gas supplymember.
 28. A method for treating a substrate, the method comprising: asolvent processing step of supplying an organic solvent onto thesubstrate to treat the substrate; a drying step of drying the substrateto remove the organic solvent on the substrate; and a bake step ofheating the substrate to thermally decompose an impurity adhering to thesubstrate, wherein the drying step and the bake step are performed indifferent chambers.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein in the dryingstep, a supercritical fluid is supplied onto the substrate to dry thesubstrate.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the bake step isperformed in a bake chamber including a heating member configured toheat the substrate, wherein the bake chamber includes a plurality ofbake chambers, wherein the plurality of bake chambers include differentheating members, and wherein a bake chamber with the heating member thatis selected depending on the substrate, among the plurality of bakechambers, is mounted in a substrate treating apparatus in which a dryingchamber configured to perform the drying step is installed, and the bakestep is performed in the selected bake chamber.
 31. The method of claim30, wherein the heating member of the bake chamber is a selected one ofa flash lamp, an infrared lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, a laser, and aheating wire.